Who knew that a Jeopardy! champion was a Hollywood writer and so witty? Harris offers "how to win at Jeopardy!" hints and advocates the use of a number of memory devices to stuff ones' head full of trivia.
Daughters of the North by Sarah Hall. Adult science fiction. DONE.
In a post apocalyptic society Sister tries to make her way to a commune for women on the England/Scotland border. Reviewers have compared it to the Handmaid's Tale (which I read) and Children of Men (which I have not read, but I saw the movie).
The author uses a lot of Scottish words that I don't know like fell (a hill or moor) and spean (wean). Then there is the British spelling of words like "moulded". I think I missed some of the nuances of this book that refer to Scottish legends, etc. I was confused when I found references to a different title - "the Carhullan Army", which is the name of the book in the UK.
www.guardian.co.uk/books
Other Scottish or British words I encountered (this may not be a complete list):
rucksack (backpack)
waterproofs (galoshes/rubbers)
motorway flyover (highway overpass?)
Wainwright (must be some sort of hiker or adventurer. I didn't figure this one out).
tin (can)
becks (pothole? I didn't figure out this reference. Upon further reading and research, I think it is a small brook/creek/stream. The book had a jeep going through becks).
tyres (tires)
garth (courtyard)
brow (edge of a steep place)
harebells (a perennial flower)
"It's probably wacky butter they're flogging". I guess this means they might be high on drugs.
reivers - see some other websites for a discussion of this group of borderlanders
Graine Warrior (is this a name? a legend? Grandma?)
a Westmorland kitchen (is this something special?)
byres (cow barns)
paddocks (small enclosed field)
bields (shelter)
brant slopes
gill (stream, area with a lot of rough up and down areas like the gills of a fish)
veld (open, grassy country)
gorse (evergreen shrub of the pea family)
Abaddon (place of the dead. Okay this one wasn't a Scottish word, but I wasn't sure what it meant).
eyries (eagle's nest. I thought it was, but it is spelled differently than I thought. I was thinking aerie).
poddish
sago palms
frogs pawn
cagoule
brio (vivacity, zest)
murrey (maybe this is a word for lesbian, I didn't figure this one out)
spelk
smoor
heafs
howking
drays
tin opener (can opener)
bothies (a basic shelter)
carthens
Clough's syndrome
bint (dirogatory word for woman/girl, from the Arabic for ibn - daughter of)
bergens
navvies (unskilled laborers)
tarn (small lake)
quim (Scrabble anyone? vagina or vaginal fluid)
slake (peat?)
spinney (small wood, copse)
http://www.yourdictionary.com/
http://www.wikipedia.com/
http://www.google.com/
I am also ignorant of the places that our heroine passes in her journeys. Maybe another printing can include a map of England and Scotland with places listed along with a British to American glossary.
Even though I didn't know the geography or all the words, this book was hard to put down. It seems like it has to have a tragic end as the suspense builds, but maybe this utopia can survive somehow - will they leave England? Go out in a blaze of glory? Reintegrate into the feeble society? If you can, read this in one fell swoop. It is only 207 pages, so this can be done. It took me about four days to read it because of time commitments, but this would be a good one to devote a day or weekend to reading.
Around the Pond: Who's Been Here? by Lindsay Barrett George. Ages 3-6. DONE.
Learn about observation, animal tracks, and nature with this book. I see that others in this series are being used by our local park district as recommended reads about nature and inspiring kids to interact with nature. I especially like that there is a map in the front cover. It has additional animal facts for those readers who can't get enough nature facts.
Welcome to Kindergarten by Anne Rockwell. Ages 5 and 6. DONE.
Good ol' Anne Rockwell. I remember having a book by her about the pilgrims when I was a kid. She has to have written hundreds of books. I see that this one she illustrated herself. As to the content, it is straightforward and the title says it all.
Clown in the Gown Drives the Car with the Star: A Book about Dipthongs and R-Controlled Vowels: Sounds Like Reading Book Eight by Brian P. Cleary and Jason Miskins. Beginning reader. DONE.
See comments on others in the series.
Peaches on the Beaches: A Book about Inflectional Endings: Sounds Like Reading Book Seven by Brian P. Cleary and Jason Miskins. Beginning reader. DONE. See comments on others in the series.
Whose Shoes Would You Choose: A Long Vowels Sounds Book with Consonant Digraphs: Sounds Like Reading Book Six by Brian P. Cleary and Jason Miskins. Beginning reader. DONE. See comments on others in the series. For the record, I have no idea what a consonant digraph is.
Firefighters to the Rescue! A Golden Go-Along Book Disney Pixar the World of Cars by Frank Berrios. DONE. Beginning Reader.
Lightning McQueen and the others become volunteer firefighters. Humor is provided by Mater, as usual. I didn't know Little Golden Books made board books like these. This cardboard book has a carrying handle. I read it in my car, so that was handy.
Swing Otto Swing: Ready-to-Read: Pre-Level 1: The Adventures of Otto by David Milgrim. Beginning reader. DONE.
This has a Dick and Jane format with humor. "See Otto Swing. Swing Otto Swing. Crash", etc.
I should check out more in the very simple Adventures of Otto series.
Ride Otto Ride: Ready-to-Read: Pre-Level 1: The Adventures of Otto by David Milgrim. Beginning reader. DONE.
Funny, but not quite as good as the Swing one. There seemed to be more character's names to read, making this one a slightly higher reading level.
Care Bears Oopsy Does It by Samantha Brooke, Kelly Grupczynski and Josie Yee. Ages 4-6. DONE.
Nothing memorable here.
My Little Pony Pinkie Pie's Special Day by Jennifer Christie and Lyn Fletcher. Ages 4-6. DONE.
Again, nothing memorable. These last two books are sweet, feminine books. Hasbro and American Greetings have name brand loyalty with Care Bears and My Little Pony (insert trademark symbol here).
http://www.hasbro.com/mylittlepony/
http://www.agkidzone.com/carebears.action
History of Love by Nicole Krauss. Adult historical fiction. For a book discussion. DONE.
13 August. Leo sure is crotchity. This book had good reviews and I am reading it for a discussion. I should have paid closer attention to the review that said "if you like Woody Allen". Well, I don't like Woody Allen, so I am suffering/struggling through this book. It is a downer book.
17 August. It got better as it went along and the story developed. By the end I almost liked the book. Maybe a movie version or Readers Digest Condensed Book version would be better. I was confused by the back and forth in time periods and main characters in each chapter. Maybe a different, shorter, edition would be less confusing.
It wasn't until near the end that I noticed that at the beginning of each chapter there is a small image sketched near the chapter title indicating who the main character of that chapter is and what it is about. I pointed this out in my book discussion and the others had not noticed either, so we had to go back and look again.
My Trucks: My First Reader by Kirsten Hall and Patti Boyd. Emerging Reader. DONE.
This is very simple and useful for a child interested in vehicles. Kudos on the choice of fonts. In the front it even lists the 41 words that are used in the story. I should probably look into others in this series, too.
Kindergarten Countdown by Anna Jane Hays and Linda Davick. Children's Fiction, ages 5 or 6. DONE.
The little girl in the story counts down until school starts and guesses what school will be like. This book helps teach or reinforce days of the week and counting.
My New School: My First Reader by Kirsten Hall and Barry Gott. Beginning reader. DONE.
A little Asian American boy shows the reader around his school. It appears that he is in kindergarten or first grade and proud of it. I like the end where he tells his little sister that soon it will be her turn to go to school. She looks happy about that. Obviously we need some positive books telling kids that they will like school and this is a good one to give to a child who is starting school.
Marshmallow Kisses by Linda Crotta Brennan and Mari Takabayashi. Preschool. DONE.
This very simple book was on a list of books about summer. Somehow I found its very short sentences to be annoying, but that's just me.
For instance: "Buttered corn". That is a sentence. I guess it has a verb, but no subject. Where are the subjects to these sentences? The pictures were not so hot, either.
When the Fireflies Come by Jonathan London and Terry Widener. Ages 3-7. DONE.
Again, this was on the summer book list. Some of the imagery in this book is profound. It is a magical/ordinary summer night. The author obviously loved summer as a child. The text is kind of stream-of-conciousness, moving from description to dialog and back again. It isn't poetry, but uses every syllable to the best advantage. The illustrations reminded me of Tuesday. I guess my brain was thinking "Wiesner" not "Widener". Go ahead. Read these books together - fireflies, frogs. There is a theme.
Bringing up Boys by James Dobson. Adult nonfiction.
Generally I respect and agree with Dr. Dobson on many issues, but not all. Whether you agree with him or not, this book brings up some very good points about the challenges and opportunities afforded to parents, teachers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. in raising a generation of boys. Obviously a lot of people will disagree with him on his viewpoint of homosexuality and he does come across as bitter about the women's right movement, although he does admit that he admires what they accomplished with Title IX and equal-pay-for-equal-work and he is glad that his daughter has these opportunities.
page 177 of ISBN 0-8423-5266-x
"As I see it, boys are desperately in need of friends. They are the victims of a long and costly battle between the sexes that has vilified the essence of masculinity and ripped into the world of children. And that is not good. Pitting boys and girls against each other as competitors and enemies cannot be healthy for anyone! As Kathleen Parker writes, 'It is moronic to continue insisting that one sex is the victor while the other is the victim, which being untrue is dastardly in effect. Boys made to feel superfluous, if not inferior, can't help but resent girls".
In other words, give boys a chance as well as giving girls a chance!
page 245
"Our objective as moms and dads is to transform our sons from 'immature and flighty youngsters into honest, caring men who will be respectful of women, loyal and faithful in marriage, keepers of commitments, strong and decisive leaders, good workers, and men who are secure in their masculinity.'"
Who can disagree with this? Although how we achieve this goal is where opinions differ.
page 248
Quote from Dr. Francis Schaeffer in 1972
"The dilemma of modern man is simple: He does not know why man has any meaning...This is the damnation of our generation, the heart of modern man's problem."
